Stop by the MSC Fan Zone booth this weekend to get a glimpse of the latest MSC developments.

The Memorial Student Center (MSC) is under construction, but that doesn’t mean you can’t see all the great progress. For a construction update, stop by the Fan Zone before the Stephen F. Austin football game on Sept. 4. Students and staff will be on hand to share information about renovation plans and progress. They will be giving away a limited number of MSC fans to help visitors keep cool during the game. Also, tune in to WTAW 1620 just before the game to hear Dave South do a live radio interview with new MSC President Collin Laden ’10. Not going to the game? You can stream the interview to your computer or smart phone at wtaw.com.

MSC renderings:


Perspective of the south entrance, adjacent to Rudder Tower.


View of 12th Man Hall

Construction progress as of July 2010:


Forming the lower levels of the new complex, looking toward Kyle Field.


Interior shot of the basement, which will include the food court and student meeting rooms.


This archway will connect the MSC with Rudder Tower.

Few places exemplify the dual role of a memorial and a student center as harmoniously as the MSC at Texas A&M University. It’s a cherished memorial that tells the story of Aggies who sacrificed in defense of our country, and it’s simultaneously a bustling student center that creates a strong sense of community.

The MSC renovation is scheduled for completion in 2012. It was dedicated in 1951, when Texas A&M’s student body numbered less than 7,000. Enrollment is now about 49,000, taxing a key MSC mission: to provide outside-the-classroom leadership training to every Aggie wishing to make a difference in campus life. The MSC has 19 committees run by 1,500 student leaders, and meeting rooms were at a premium when the MSC closed for the three-year renovation in August 2009.

For information about MSC renovation progress, go to ourmsc.tamu.edu.

For information on naming opportunities, contact David Wilkinson ‘87, or Cindy Munson '99 of the Texas A&M Foundation at (800) 392-3310 or read the MSC case statement.

Click Here to make an online gift to the MSC renovation and expansion project.

Fish Campers catch the Aggie spirit and learn to carry on A&M traditions

By Nichelle Jaeger ’12

For several weeks, thousands of students from the Class of ’14 made the trek to Lakeview, like many before them, to take part in a treasured Aggie tradition: Fish Camp. For many Aggies, Fish Camp is their first real taste of Texas A&M as a student, helping them transition from high school to college. This is where they meet new friends, learn yells and experience the possibilities of college.

In its 56th year, Fish Camp boasts a record attendance of more than 6,000 freshmen. To accommodate the large numbers of campers, the program is organized into seven four-day sessions. Fish Camp began Aug. 3 and runs through Aug. 24.

The entire program is facilitated by upperclassmen, who serve as counselors, crew and staff members. Students apply to be Fish Camp staff in October and volunteer for nearly nine months to coordinate a memorable camp experience for freshmen.

Along with encouraging freshman, Fish Camp also honors those who have selflessly given back to A&M. These Aggies serve as Fish Camp namesakes. This year, Fish Camp honors 42 Aggies, including well-known former students such as Neal Adams ’68, Tim Rabroker ’82 and Major Glenn G. Burnside II ’73. Four of the namesakes are Texas A&M Foundation employees: Steve Blomstedt ’83, Carl Jaedicke ’73, Ann Lovett ’81 and Shannon Zwernemann.




Students load the buses for Fish Camp, kicking off their college career.


Fish Camp counselors lead small discussion groups where freshmen have the opportunity to ask questions and build a tight bond with fellow students.


The Texas A&M Foundation is proud to have four employees honored as Fish Camp namesakes this year.


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!


After four days of Fish Camp, freshmen return to campus knowing they will always be Texas Aggies.

Click here to contribute to the Fish Camp endowment. Click here to give to Fish Camp scholarships.

For more information about how you can support Fish Camp, contact Cindy Munson ‘99, assistant director of development for student affairs at the Texas A&M Foundation, at (800) 392-3310 or (979) 458-1689.

Solar light pipe team receives $75,000 to further develop, implement or market its design.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirms that Aggies have come up with an ultra-bright idea. A solar light pipe system designed by Dr. Liliana Beltrán, associate professor of architecture, and built with help from six environmental design, construction science and electrical engineering students was one of 14 winning projects at an EPA sustainability competition last spring in Washington, D.C. The A&M team received $75,000 to further develop, implement or market its Horizontal Hybrid Solar Light Pipe: An Integrated System of Daylight and Electric Light, which transports sunlight into buildings from as far away as 40 feet.

The device funnels light from a collector through a pipe of highly reflective material into a simulated office in a freight container. Because the pipe passively redirects daylight through a small window opening, it reduces both lighting and cooling costs.

To develop the system, Beltrán helped the Aggies study and select materials and components; optimize the interaction of daylight and electric light sources and controls; build and install the system; and capture data from it. Electrical engineering students installed the system’s electric lighting and dimming controls; construction science and environmental design students focused on construction of the light pipe geometry and testing room.


Nick Gignac ’05, working on his master’s degree in architecture, checks the solar light pipe in a simulated office space in a freight container at the Texas A&M Riverside campus.


David Zatopek ’85 (right), a member of the Department of Architecture Advisory Council, checks out the solar light pipe project. At left is Nick Gignac ’05, part of the student team that presented the project at a sustainability competition last April in Washington. Also shown is Annica Nilsson, a Ph.D. student in physical engineering from Uppsala University in Sweden who came to A&M to learn about daylighting.


Beltrán shows the light pipe project to Ronald Skaggs ’65, chairman of HKS Inc., and a former student in Texas A&M’s College of Architecture.

Click here to learn more about the project.

For more information about how you can support Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, contact Larry Zuber, senior director of development at the Texas A&M Foundation, at (800) 392-3310 or (979) 845-0939.

This video is part of a feature story from the Summer 2010 issue of Spirit Magazine. Click here to read the full issue of Spirit.

Texas A&M professor helped find fossilized skeletons of apelike ancestors in South Africa.

A Texas A&M paleoanthropologist participated in the discovery of two skeletons of a previously unknown 1.78 million- to 1.95 million-year-old human ancestor in South Africa.

"When I first saw the skeletons, I knew we had something special," said Dr. Darryl J. de Ruiter, assistant professor of anthropology who was the craniodental specialist on the project. He examined the fossilized skull, jaws and teeth of what are believed to be an adult female and a juvenile male. "Both were remarkably complete and extremely well-preserved." He said the skulls and teeth are humanlike, although the skulls are smaller than those of modern humans.

Named Australopithecus ("southern ape") sediba ("fountain" or "wellspring" in the Sotho language of South Africa), these human ancestors could move in trees and walk on two legs on the ground. This summer, de Ruiter and some of his students will look for more skeletons at the site, a 10-by-10-foot cave about 8 feet deep near Johannesburg.

Science Magazine reported the find in April. The lead author is project director Dr. Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa; de Ruiter, who received the Ray A. Rothrock ’77 Fellows Award from the College of Liberal Arts, is the second author.

To learn how you can support research and academics in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M, contact Larry Walker ‘97 at (800) 392-3310.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2010 issue of Spirit Magazine. Click here to read the full issue of Spirit.

Texas A&M engineers design interactive robots to rescue victims trapped at disaster sites

Rescue robots go where humans fear to tread, such as inside the wreckage of collapsed buildings or mines. Advised by a Pixar animator, Dr. Robin Murphy -- Raytheon professor in Texas A&M’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering -- and her students are working on a project with Stanford University to enhance rescue robots’ capabilities and interaction.

During simulations with trapped victims, Murphy said, "We realized that the robot was very creepy. So we added a new component that we call the Survivor Buddy, which is a head with a multimedia interface that can be used by responders and doctors but also allows the survivor to watch TV, talk with friends, and listen to music to pass the time."

Survivor Buddy has a microphone, Webcam, speakers, and a computer screen that displays streaming video and provides a full Web interface. The Survivor Buddy unit mounts on shoe box-size Inuktun robots commonly used in disasters. Its face, a 4¼-by-5½-inch touch-screen monitor, can maintain eye contact, nod, and show surprise, sadness and happiness in comforting victims. The head folds flat to stay out of the way until the robot finds a survivor.

Murphy has used ground, air and sea robots at sites including the World Trade Center (2001); La Conchita, Calif., mudslides (2005); Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine cave-in (2007); Berkman Plaza II (2007) and the Cologne, Germany, archives building (2009) structural collapses; and hurricanes such as Katrina (2005) and Ike (2008).

To support research and academics in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M, contact Don Birkelbach ‘70 at (800) 392-3310.

This article was originally published in the Summer 2010 issue of Spirit Magazine. Click here to read the full issue of Spirit. Click here to read the full issue of Spirit.

As part of their study abroad trip to China, students led a summer camp for 60 orphans

This summer nine Aggies studying abroad in Qingdao, China, visited with ethnic-minority Yi youths orphaned by AIDS. The students sampled Yi culture, including food and games, and the youngsters met their first foreigners. To show appreciation for what they learned, the Aggies donated school supplies, a public address (P.A.) system and 37 pairs of shoes -- one for each student in the Si Kai Love class.

The four-day stay with 9- to 15-year-olds in the Si Kai Love class is part of a longer trip in which the Aggies learn and help local residents. The students led a summer camp for 60 orphans aged 5 to 10 who hope to start first grade this fall. Upon their return to Texas A&M in mid-August, the Aggies plan to raise money to sponsor a class of 40 to 45 children; each child’s education costs about $400 a year. If they raise the funds, the first-grade class will be named for Texas A&M University.

"The best part about spending time with the orphans was seeing how joyful they are despite their circumstances," said Thomas Kearney '10, who holds a master's degree in international affairs from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. "The kids were extremely loving and giving, and it was both humbling and inspiring to see their behavior and attitude."

Dr. Antonio La Pastina of Texas A&M’s Department of Communication led the trip to the Sichuan region, which is allowing Aggies to experience China’s cultural, historical and geographical diversity.







To learn how you can fund global study scholarships for Texas A&M students, contact Jody Ford '99 at the Texas A&M Foundation at (800) 392-3310 or (979) 845-8161.

Drip irrigation research could relieve water shortages and reduce groundwater contamination

With expanding populations in urban and rural areas, municipalities’ water needs continue to increase. As a result, the competition for water between municipalities and agriculture has intensified.

A Texas AgriLife Research subsurface irrigation study could lead to reduced water use -- with the bonus of higher crop yields -- in commercial agriculture. Dr. Tom Cothren, AgriLife Research crop physiologist/Texas A&M soil and crop sciences professor, leads a project that uses a large-scale drip system to water crops rather than traditional furrow irrigation.

"Subsurface irrigation reduces water loss from evaporation that occurs from aboveground applications and places water in the root zone where the crop can make most efficient use," Cothren said. "This system also eliminates runoff associated with furrow irrigation."

Another advantage to the drip system is the ability to inject nutrients and chemicals directly to the root system. This reduces groundwater contamination caused by traditional spray applications. In addition, farmers don’t have to wait for rainfall to apply nutrients such as nitrogen to crops. Directly injecting nutrients at the well house can also save on production costs.

The less water used by producers, the better their bottom line. John Rocconi, a graduate research assistant, said the initial investment for a normal production area would be $800 to $900 per acre.


Cy McGuire ’03 ’05, a former soil and crop sciences graduate student, returned to Aggieland to design the layout for the project. He is a design consultant with Eco-Drip Irrigation, an Aggie company that provided the drip irrigation equipment to Texas A&M at a greatly reduced cost.


A backhoe buries main lines for the irrigation system.


PVC pipe is used for the main lines.


Drip tape lines are buried 16 inches under crops.


Nutrients and chemicals are injected through a manifold system for delivery to crops.


Red tanks filter water and nursing tanks (right) are for chemical injection to keep the lines clean.

Click here for more pictures. Click here to watch a video about Texas A&M’s drip irrigation research.

To learn how you can support research and academics in Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, contact Monica Delisa at (800) 392-3310.

This is an excerpt from an article originally posted in AgriLife News.

This video is part of a feature story from the Summer 2010 issue of Spirit Magazine.

A former graduate student describes postwar living and learning at the Texas A&M Annex.

By J. Decker White '51


After World War II, Texas A&M College had a shortage of housing and classrooms. So for four consecutive years, all A&M freshmen and many of their instructors learned and lived at the A&M Annex in Bryan, a former Army air base leased to the university. It was seven miles from downtown Bryan and 12 miles from the main campus.

I arrived as a chemistry instructor and graduate student on Sept. 1, 1948--five days after my 20th birthday.

The all-male, military-oriented student body was a new experience for me, coming from Baylor, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Many students were veterans, some single and some married with small children. They were a hardy bunch of young men in the Corps of Cadets. As I rode the early bus to the campus where I took my graduate-level courses, I was moved to see cadets “fall in” for the 6 a.m. formation.



Back at the annex, I was teaching these fine cadets in sections of freshman chemistry grouped according to major: engineering/pre-medicine/science/non-science and agricultural sciences. I was amazed at the total responsibility I was immediately given for my students, who were a mix of young high school grads and war veterans. The veterans, from 22 to well over 40 years old, ran the gamut from noncommissioned soldiers to high ranking officers in the Army, Navy, Marines and Army Air Forces. I admired them for adjusting so well back into civilian life and intermingling with young classmates. I also admired the cadets for the challenging lives they chose to experience. They could have attended college under less demanding conditions.

Life was fascinating at the base. We--freshmen and teaching staff--shared a mess hall, large snack bar, swimming pool and student center for relaxation, reading, study, pingpong and billiards.



Off-limits to us were about 300 Boeing-Stearman Model 75 biplanes once used as trainer aircraft. They were mothballed and parked on the fenced tarmac. Summer 1949 brought a major disappointment as the government auctioned off all the biplanes on sealed bids. That September, the planes were dismantled and hauled away, or in many cases, towed across Highway 21 into a cotton field and flown out. I learned later that the planes sold for $5 to $500 each. I had missed my chance to own one!

I lived in a small room in the former nurses’ quarters near the base hospital, one mile from the main gate. Scorpions sometimes dropped from the ceiling, but the great-tasting, soft tap water made up for the scorpions at least a little.

With a heavy heart, I left the annex when it closed for good in summer 1950. Many great memories remain with me, but they are fading. In searching for photos to use in my personal journal, I’ve been disappointed with the lack of records of this period at A&M. I hope it will not be forgotten. It was pleasing to see a note in a Class of ’51 newsletter about the dedication of a bronze plaque for that period of “fish” history.



Editor’s note: White is documenting A&M’s annex era and asks readers to share photographs with him atamfoundation@tamu.edu.

This article was originally posted in the Summer 2010 issue of Spirit Magazine. Click here to read the full issue of Spirit.

Texas A&M students create designs for Houston art, architecture museum building

Students in a fall 2009 first-year graduate studio at Texas A&M explored alternative designs for a new art museum in downtown Houston. The Anza Falco Museum of Art and Design will begin operations in a transitional structure scheduled to begin construction later this year.

"The students’ projects addressed how materials are not just about construction choices," said Gabriel Esquivel, assistant professor of architecture, "but also a means of creating diverse sensations in a space, focusing on the effects produced by the materials’ textures and surfaces."

These latest concepts join a long line of American architectural innovation such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York City and Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The students’ creations also follow in the footsteps of Aggie Architect Adrian Smith ’66, designer of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.


"Jewel in the City" by Dustin Mattiza


"The Kiss" by Jie Sun


"A Floating Project" by Kyle Reeder


"Take Over - Take Off" by Geoffrey Kornegay


"Garden Patch" by Heather Davis


"Formal White" by Matt Miller

Click Here to see more images of the students’ designs. Click Here for more about the museum.

For more information about how you can support the College of Architecture, contact Larry Zuber, senior director of development, at (800) 392-3310 or (979) 845-0939.

This article was originally posted in archone, Texas A&M’s College of Architecture newsletter.

A&M researcher creates edible cottonseed, a protein-packed treat.


You’ve worn it. You’ve slept on it. You’ve bandaged yourself with it. But have you ever eaten it?

Cotton plants produce 1.6 pounds of protein-packed seeds with every pound of lint. But until now, cottonseed always contained high levels of gossypol, a toxin that protects the plants from pests and disease -- and kept cottonseed off our dinner plates. The chemical is poisonous to humans and animals except cattle, which can gradually inactivate gossypol in their four-part stomachs.

Dr. Keerti Rathore and his Texas A&M research team might have unlocked the secrets to a bountiful crop of cotton with edible seeds. "The results look very promising," said Rathore, associate professor of plant genomics and biotechnology. Rathore and his team silenced the gossypol gene only in the seeds, which hold great potential as a food source that could save lives in developing countries battling malnutrition.


"We analyzed the plant leaves, flower organs and seeds of the first genetically modified cotton plants grown under normal farm conditions," Rathore said. (Researchers also have grown five generations of the special cotton in an A&M greenhouse.) "The levels of gossypol and related defense chemicals are similar to that of regular cotton plants in the buds, leaves and flowers, but the seeds show the ultra-low levels of gossypol that should allow safe consumption by humans and all animals."

To learn how you can support research and academics in Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, contact Monica Delisa at (800) 392-3310.

A&M-Qatar students travel to College Station for their global study experience

By Dorian Martin

Studying abroad conjures up visions of Roman ruins or English castles. For a group of students who attend Texas A&M at Qatar, that adventure involves the Dixie Chicken, the Bush Library, and Texas A&M’s Dwight Look College of Engineering.

"The semester-long study abroad program is a great opportunity for Qatar students to experience main campus life in its many forms,” said Dr. Mark Weichold, dean and chief executive officer of Texas A&M at Qatar. "Living and studying in College Station for an entire semester allows them to experience courses in a different setting, as well as a chance to gain first-hand an understanding of time-honored Aggie traditions, vibrant student life and a diverse academic community that make Texas A&M University a one-of-a-kind institution."


The 'thumbs up' was pretty easy to figure out, but the Arabic translation for "Gig 'em" is still a work in progress.

Aggie Spirit Up Close and Personal
For Texas A&M at Qatar students spending a semester at Texas A&M’s main campus, the experience is incredibly eye-opening. “I had never been to Texas and I'd been dying to see College Station and Aggieland. I wanted to see the huge Aggie spirit that everyone shares here," said Thamer Al-Kuwari ’12, an electrical engineering major. "And when I knew that I would be living in the dorms, I got even more excited about coming here!"

Student exchanges are part of the 10-year agreement between Texas A&M University and Qatar Foundation. Companies or the Qatar government cover Qatar nationals’ study abroad expenses during the fall or spring semester. Unsponsored students are funded through a combination of scholarship funds from Texas A&M at Qatar and personal funds.


Qatari students have heard a lot about the Aggie Ring in their homeland, and on a clear day it’s rumored that they can actually see this one from Doha.

Aggieland of Opportunities
Since the exchange program started in 2008, students visiting from the Qatar program have been offered some very special opportunities. For instance, members of the Fall 2009 cohort were invited to hear President Obama’s speech at Texas A&M. Students in the Spring 2010 cohort had their first experience with Texas weather variations and experienced snow. The group also explored the Stockyards and the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth for some authentic Texas culture. Texas A&M’s College of Engineering also plans to develop initiatives that will enable the Qatar students to interact with industry professionals.


Qatar is located slightly east of College Station.

Home Away From Home
After a semester, A&M at Qatar students find they have a second home in Texas. "I wanted to go to Texas A&M at College Station to experience what college life was like outside of home and to step out of my comfort into a new environment," said Bassam Ahmad ’11, a mechanical engineering major who had lived previously in Toronto and New York. "I feel that going to College Station put me back in the situation of establishing new networks and social circles, which is a challenge that I very much enjoy. If asked whether it was worth it, I would answer a thousand times yes."